Emergency situation detector

ABSTRACT

Emergency situation detection apparatus ( 12 ) comprises: a stress input unit for receiving body stress information from a subject ( 10 ), a physical input unit for receiving body physical reaction data ( 14 ) from said subject ( 10 ), a comparator unit ( 20 ), associated with said stress input unit and said physical input unit, for comparing stress level information and physical reaction data, to detect substantially simultaneous stress level change and a physical reaction in said subject ( 10 ), said apparatus being operable to threshold said simultaneous detection to infer the presence of an emergency situation and to enter an alarm state.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an emergency situation detector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to know when personnel encounter emergency situations.In particular security personnel including night watchman and guards,airline pilots, truck and van drivers and the like can be the subject ofattacks and other emergencies with which they are unable to cope. Insuch a case it is desirable for the subject of the attack to call forhelp, but sometimes the nature of the emergency renders calling for helpimpossible. Likewise, elderly and other vulnerable persons, particularlythose living on their own, can find themselves in difficulties andunable to reach a telephone to call for help, for example after a fall.

In cases where it is not possible to call for help, a number of systemsexist for automatically determining that an emergency situation existsand calling for help.

Hospital-based systems that monitor a patient's pulse and call a doctoror nurse if the pulse falls are well known but are not suitable foranything other than the hospital environment.

Aircraft based hijack warning systems rely upon the pilot's standardradio-based voice link to air traffic control or include panic buttonsfor broadcasting an SOS signal. Hijackers however tend to be familiarwith the presence of these systems and either use them to theiradvantage or prevent their use altogether.

Other systems for protecting aircraft from emergencies tend to rely onpilots' reaction times. Certain types of emergencies happen too quicklyfor the pilots to be able to raise the alarm or divert the pilots toemergency activity without diverting their attention to raising thealarm.

Often, the ability to determine what has happened following an aviationdisaster is dependent on finding the aircraft flight recorder or blackbox.

Israel Patent Application No. 145498 to the present applicant disclosesa system for detecting cockpit emergencies comprising the following:

-   a) an input unit for receiving body stress level information from at    least two subjects,-   b) a detection unit, associated with said input unit, for comparing    stress level information from said at least two subjects, to detect    substantially simultaneous stress level increases in said subjects,-   the system being operable to threshold detected simultaneous stress    level increases to infer the presence of an emergency situation and    to enter an alarm state.

The system uses the physiological state of the pilots to determine thatan emergency situation has arisen. In order to reduce false alarms ittakes data from the two pilots and deduces the presence of an alarm whenboth pilots indicate stress. Such a system has the disadvantage that itis only useful in situations such as the cockpit of a civil aircraftwhere two or more persons are likely to undergo the same emergency. Thesystem is not applicable to security guards, elderly people living aloneand the like. Likewise it is not applicable for monitoring of personsbeing sent into dangerous situations such as troops into battle orfiremen into a burning building.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided emergency situationdetection apparatus comprising:

a stress input unit for receiving body stress level information from asubjects,

a physical input unit for receiving body physical reaction data fromsaid subject.

a comparator unit, associated with said stress input unit and saidphysical input unit, for comparing stress level information and physicalreaction data, to detect substantially simultaneous stress levelincreases and a physical reaction in said subject,

said apparatus being operable to threshold said simultaneous detectionto infer the presence of an emergency situation and to enter an alarmstate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same maybe carried into effect, reference will now be made, purely by way ofexample, to the accompanying drawings.

With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressedthat the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what isbelieved to be the most useful and readily understood description of theprinciples and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, noattempt is made to show structural details of the invention in moredetail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of theinvention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent tothose skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may beembodied in practice. In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of a detection device according to afirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram showing the detection device of FIG. 1 ingreater detail; and

FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram showing a 3d virtual figure for providingan intuitive user front end for monitoring the state of a subject oralternatively for providing a way of translating motion of the subjectinto an animation for a virtual reality game or an animated film or thelike.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present embodiments provide an emergency situation detector whichuses the fight or flight physiological response of subjects to determinethat an emergency situation exists and to automatically raise an alarm.A supporting signal is then taken from an independent device whichmeasures something other than body stress, such as physical bodyattitude. The use of an average of the signals from the stress and thephysical detector provides protection against false alarms caused byself-induced anger, pure fright unaccompanied by an attack, and the liketo which individual subjects may be susceptible. The signals may bemeasured against a threshold, or a delta may be used.

In a broader sense the present embodiments provide indications ofdangerous situations arising or of circumstances that could lead todangerous situations. For example, the embodiments may be able to fromphysiological measurements that a security guard has fallen asleep, andtherefore is not doing his duty of guarding.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applicationto the details of construction and the arrangement of the components setforth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Theinvention is applicable to other embodiments or of being practiced orcarried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which shows an emergency situationdetection apparatus placed on a user.

In FIG. 1, a subject 10 has an emergency situation detector 12 attachedthereto. The detector 12 comprises bodily function detector 14 andphysical reaction detector 15. The bodily function detector may forexample detect pulse rate or sweat levels of the subject. Preferably thedetector may be concealed beneath the subject's clothing. The detector12 is preferably able to send signals in non-contact manner to emergencysituation detection apparatus 16.

The bodily function detector 14 receives physiological body stress levelinformation. The physical reaction detector preferably detects suddenmovements, or indications of an impact of some kind or the attainment ofa horizontal position or like indicators of physical reaction. An impactdetector may for example comprise a piezoelectric sensor. Neitherphysiological stress alone nor physical reaction alone are reliableindicators of an emergency situation but both taken together may beexpected to increase the reliability of any determination of anemergency situation.

Preferably a comparison unit 20 is associated with the bodily functionand reaction detectors, for comparing signal information to determinesubstantially simultaneous occurrence of stress level increase andphysical reaction in the subject. The detections may be thresholded asdeemed sensible by the skilled person to increase reliability ofdetection. Different thresholds may be appropriate for different kindsof subject. Thus elderly people may be better served by a lowerthreshold than a security guard. As a further alternative, instead of afixed threshold level, the system may monitor the change in signal levelover time. The change or delta may then be thresholded. Thresholding thedeltas can distinguish high signal levels which are due to a rapidlyoccurring event from high signal levels which may be due to backgroundstress and the like.

The thresholded output of the comparison unit, following a positiveresult of the thresholding, is passed to an alarm state manager 28 toimply the presence of an emergency situation and to enter an alarmstate.

Preferably the alarm state manager is able to call for assistance, forexample via automatic opening of a radio link, or of a video link, to acentral controller, thus to provide immediate indication of an emergencystate. Preferably, the link, which is at least an audio link, includesat one end a speaker and or microphone located on the body of the user.

In a further preferred embodiment specifically for an aircraft cockpit,the alarm state manager is able to initiate an automatic download of theaircraft's flight recorder or black box data to a central controller,thus making available flight information even if the black box is neverrecovered.

The alarm state manager is preferably also able to enter an alarm stateunder the influence of other detectors, for example with detection of aloud noise or following prolonged instability. The alarm state managermay be able to enter different levels of alarm states promptingdifferent actions.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, theemergency situation detector includes an audio or other confirmationchannel which can be opened upon detection of an emergency in order toprovide confirmation of the situation or allow two-way communication, orthe like.

In a further preferred embodiment the emergency situation detector 12includes a GPS detector to provide positioning information. For use in abuilding or other places where GPS signals may not be available, atriangulation system may be installed for accurate positionalinformation.

A further preferred embodiment intended for a user who stays within apredefined area, such as a security guard on patrol, simply sendsregular code signals from which the system infers that he is inposition.

Further preferred embodiments are provided to determine attitude,position and motion of a subject. Thus the emergency situation detectormay include an accelerometer. A detector for detection of a directionthat a user is facing may be strapped to the chest or a like part of thebody. The detector includes a compass needle and the relative alignmentof the compass needle relative to a predefined forward direction of thebody provides information as to the direction the user is facing.

In a further preferred embodiment, emergency situation detectors areprovided to two or more persons in a team. The signals from differentmembers of the team can be compared to determine who is the closest toan event. For example the intensity of an audio signal as received fromtwo different users can be compared to determine who was the closest toan explosion. The team can then be instructed accordingly to deal withthe situation.

As an alternative, the physical signal can be compared with a detectorof the surroundings, for example a detector located on the wall of theaircraft. Thus vibrations due to the aircraft can be discounted.

In one embodiment, data is stored for a predetermined time in a stack,for example a FIFO stack. The size of the stack may be a given amount ofdata, or may be a given amount of time, or some other factor aspreferred. In the event of the detection of an emergency situation, allof the data currently in the stack is saved, so as to allow subsequentanalysis. The stack embodiment is useful because it makes availableinformation from directly before the emergency, often extremely usefulin any investigation.

Embodiments of the present invention may use a private communicationchannel. In one embodiment the equipment located on the user has a shortrange radio transmitter receiver and a corresponding transmitterreceiver is located over a telephone socket. The device at the telephonesocket includes an automatic dialer which makes a connection with thecontroller. For greater range the device at the user may transmit to arepeater which then transmits over a greater range. One embodiment ofthe repeater may be located at a convenient nearby power socket. Anotherembodiment may be located on the person. Other embodiments may make useof existing channels such as the cellular network. Yet other embodimentsmay comprise universal communicators which make use of public networksif detected and use their own channel of communication otherwise.

According to a further embodiment a system comprises rule based logicand one or more body sensors for location on the subject. The subject isexpected to follow certain behavioral rules, for example a guard patrolsby walking around within a certain area. If he were to run or lie downit would be apparent that an abnormal situation may have arisen. Thusthe sensor is usable in combination with the rule based logic to detectnon-compliance with the behavioral rules, to indicate an abnormalsituation and if necessary to set off an alarm or otherwise summon help.It will be clear that the more independent sensors are used the morereliable the determination can be.

In other circumstances, a guard may be expected to run and lie down toobserve suspicious circumstances. In such a case the system may riotreact under such circumstances, but may await an additional indicationsuch as an impact or the sound of an explosion, or signs or rolling orthe like or an indication of an impact prior to the guard lying/fallingdown and having his physiological ridings change, which may indicatethat the guard is under attack.

In a preferred embodiment, the detectors are programmable. The rules canbe changed for different users or for allowing the same device to givento different users having different requirements. The device can also bedynamically programmable according to parameters it is able to detect.Thus it may be able to use detected locations to change betweendifferent sets of rules. Or as another example, a device programmed foruse by a fireman may change the rules it is using depending on thetemperature it detects. In a further example the change of rules may becarried out on line, for example over a radio connection.

A position or location detector may be used in combination with theabove system and the rules preferably define location based behaviors.

When used for virtual reality, the main interest is the position ormotion detection. However the physiological detection can provide a moodindication.

In the preferred embodiment the signals are translated into the motionof a three-dimensional animated figure on the screen. Reference is nowmade to FIG. 3 which shows FIG. 30 that uses the signals to replicatethe mood and the motion of the subject. The figure is a simplifiedfigure and may be a preconfigured animation.

Thus in emergency situation detection a monitoring party has anintuitive user friendly indication of the state of persons he ismonitoring, and in animation and games the animated character moves inaccordance with the motions of the actor or player but without needingexpensive detection equipment or large scale processing ability.

If the subject being monitored is himself watching the screen then theanimated character provides an interactive feedback to the subject. Itis possible to carry out recreational and physical excercises andtraining with immediate and personalized feedback. A subject can bewarned if he is not carrying out an exercise correctly or is carrying itout in a dangerous manner. This may be determined by comparing themovement with a predetermined program of movements or comparing themovements with a feature on the virtual reality screen. Furthermoremovement of a ball or the direction of a virtual gun can be monitored incombination with the movement of the subject to decide whether aparticipant in a game has scored points or is killed or the like.

The system can monitor for sounds and the like for emotional content,for example laughter, crying and the like. Likewise the system canmonitor the physiological signals for emotional cues. The emotional cuesare then transferred to the animated figure.

As a further example if something happens to a subject being monitored,such as him being attacked, the animated figure clearly shows what ishappening or what has happened to him at a particular time, since theinformation can be stored and replayed.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable subcombination.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited to what has been particularly shown anddescribed hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention isdefined by the appended claims and includes both combinations andsubcombinations of the various features described hereinabove as well asvariations and modifications thereof which would occur to personsskilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description.

1. Emergency situation detection apparatus comprising: a stress inputunit for receiving body stress information from a subject, a physicalinput unit for receiving body physical reaction data from said subject,a comparator unit, associated with said stress input unit and saidphysical input unit, for comparing stress level information and physicalreaction data, to detect substantially simultaneous stress level changeand a physical reaction in said subject, said apparatus being operableto threshold said simultaneous detection to infer the presence of anemergency situation and to enter an alarm state.
 2. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said thresholding is athresholding of said changes.
 3. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 1, configured for attachment to said subject. 4.Emergency situation detection apparatus according to claim 1, configuredfor attachment to the trunk region of a user, above the hip region. 5.Emergency situation detection apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid stress level information comprises pulse rate information. 6.Emergency situation detection apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid stress level information comprises breathing rate information. 7.Emergency situation detection apparatus according to claim 1 whereinsaid stress level information is sweat level information.
 8. Emergencysituation detection apparatus according to claim 1, configured tointerpret extremely low stress level information as said subject beingin a state of sleep.
 9. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said physical input unit comprises aninclination detector affixed to said subject.
 10. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said physical inputunit comprises an accelerometer.
 11. Emergency situation detectionapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said input unit is responsive totransmitter units placed on said subjects.
 12. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said alarm statecomprises automatic opening of a communication channel to a centralcontroller.
 13. Emergency situation detection apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said alarm state comprises automatic opening of anaudio channel to a central controller.
 14. Emergency situation detectionapparatus according to claim 13, wherein an end of said audio channel islocated on said subject.
 15. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said alarm state comprises automaticopening of a video link to a central controller.
 16. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 1, said alarm state beingadditionally triggerable by at least one of an instability monitor, anda loud sound monitor.
 17. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 1, sized and configured for mounting unobtrusively ona subject.
 18. Emergency situation detection apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising location detection functionality fordetermining a location, said apparatus further being configured toreport said location.
 19. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 18, wherein said location detection functionality isone of a group comprising a GPS detector and a triangulation system. 20.Emergency situation detector according to claim 1, further comprising adirection sensor, said direction sensor comprising a compass needle andfunctionality for measuring an angle of said compass needle in relationto a reference.
 21. Emergency situation detector according to claim 1,associated with a memory stack for storing a predetermined amount ofimmediately preceding data, said detector being configured to save alldata in said stack upon entry into said alarm state.
 22. Emergencysituation detection method comprising: receiving body stress levelinformation from a subject, receiving body physical reaction data fromsaid subject, comparing stress level information and physical reactiondata, to detect substantially simultaneous stress level change andphysical reaction in said subject, and thresholding said simultaneousdetection to infer the presence of an emergency situation and to enteran alarm state.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said thresholdingcomprises thresholding of rates of change.
 24. The method of claim 22,wherein said stress level information comprises pulse rate information.25. The method of claim 22, wherein said stress level information isbreathing rate information.
 26. The method of claim 22 wherein saidstress level information is sweat level information.
 27. The method ofclaim 22 wherein said physical reaction data is body angular inclinationdata.
 28. The method of claim 22, wherein said physical reaction data isbody acceleration data.
 29. The method of claim 22, comprising beingresponsive to transmitter units placed on said subject.
 30. The methodof claim 22, wherein said alarm state comprises automatic opening of aradio link to a central controller.
 31. The method of claim 22, whereinsaid alarm state comprises automatic opening of a video link to acentral controller.
 32. A system comprising rule based logic and atleast one body sensor for location on a subject, the subject beingexpected to follow certain behavioral rules, said at least one sensorbeing usable in combination with said rule based logic to detectnon-compliance with said behavioral rules, thereby to indicate anabnormal situation.
 33. The system of claim 32, further comprising atleast a second body sensor usable in combination with said behavioralrules.
 34. The system of claim 32, wherein said events include said usersleeping or dozing when he is not expected to.
 35. The system of claim32, wherein said events include said user walking when expected to bestationary or being stationary when expected to be walking.
 36. Thesystem of claim 32, wherein said behavioral rules define expectedattitudes of user body positions.
 37. The system of claim 32, whereinsaid behavioral rules define places where said user is expected to belocated and where said user is expected not to be located.
 38. Thesystem of claim 32, wherein said behavioral rules include expectedbehaviors following major impacts.
 39. The system of claim 32, furthercomprising a location detection device and wherein said rule based logiccontains rules based on location.
 40. The system of claim 32, beingprogrammable to allow dynamic changing of said rules.
 41. A directionsensor for mounting on a mobile body, said direction sensor comprising acompass needle and functionality for measuring an angle of said compassneedle in relation to a reference, said direction sensor beingconfigured for mounting in orientation fixed manner on said mobile body.42. The direction sensor of claim 41, wherein said mobile body is aperson, said direction sensor being configured for mounting on a part ofsaid person indicative of a direction that said person is facing. 43.Emergency situation detection apparatus comprising: a physiologicalinput unit for receiving body physiological information from a subject,a physical input unit for receiving body physical reaction data fromsaid subject, a logic unit, associated with said physiological inputunit and said physical input unit, for applying at least one logicaloperation simultaneously to said physiological information and saidphysical information, to infer the presence of an emergency situationand to enter an alarm state.
 44. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 43, configured for attachment to said subject. 45.Emergency situation detection apparatus according to claim 44,configured for attachment to the trunk region of a user, above the hipregion.
 46. Emergency situation detection apparatus according to claim43, wherein said physiological level information comprises pulse rateinformation.
 47. Emergency situation detection apparatus according toclaim 43, wherein said physiological level information comprisesbreathing rate information.
 48. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 43 wherein said physiological level information issweat level information.
 49. Emergency situation detector according toclaim 43, wherein said physiological information is data indicatingwhether a user is asleep.
 50. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 43, wherein said physical input unit comprises aninclination detector affixed to said subject.
 51. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said physical inputunit comprises an accelerometer.
 52. Emergency situation detectionapparatus according to claim 43, wherein said input unit is responsiveto transmitter units placed on said subjects.
 53. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said alarm statecomprises automatic opening of a communication channel to a centralcontroller.
 54. Emergency situation detection apparatus according toclaim 43, wherein said alarm state comprises automatic opening of anaudio channel to a central controller.
 55. Emergency situation detectionapparatus according to claim 54, wherein an end of said audio channel islocated on said subject.
 56. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 43, wherein said alarm state comprises automaticopening of a video link to a central controller.
 57. Emergency situationdetection apparatus according to claim 43, said alarm state beingadditionally triggerable by at least one of an instability monitor, anda loud sound monitor.
 58. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 43, sized and configured for mounting unobtrusivelyon a subject.
 59. Emergency situation detection apparatus according toclaim 43, further comprising location detection functionality fordetermining a location, said apparatus further being configured toreport said location.
 60. Emergency situation detection apparatusaccording to claim 59, wherein said location detection functionality isone of a group comprising a GPS detector and a triangulation system. 61.Emergency situation detector according to claim 43, further comprising adirection sensor, said direction sensor comprising a compass needle andfunctionality for measuring an angle of said compass needle in relationto a reference.
 62. Emergency situation detector according to claim 43,associated with a memory stack for storing a predetermined amount ofimmediately preceding data, said detector being configured to save alldata in said stack upon entry into said alarm state.
 63. Emergencysituation detector according to claim 1 wherein said indication of analarm state comprises any of an impact, an impact causing a subject tofalling down, and an impact causing physiological readings to change.64. Emergency situation detector according to claim 22 wherein saidindication of an alarm state comprises any of an impact, an impactcausing a subject to falling down, and an impact causing physiologicalreadings to change.
 65. Emergency situation detector according to claim32 wherein said indication of an alarm state comprises any of an impact,an impact causing a subject to fall down, and an impact causingphysiological readings to change.
 66. Emergency situation detectoraccording to claim 43 wherein said indication of an alarm statecomprises any of an impact, an impact causing a subject to fall down,and an impact causing physiological readings to change.
 67. Emergencysituation detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein anadditional detector is located on a wall of a vehicle carrying asubject, so as to cancel out vibrations of said vehicle.
 68. Centralco-ordination unit for controlling a plurality of remotely locatedemergency situation detectors, each detector comprising: a stress inputunit for receiving body stress information from a subject, a physicalinput unit for receiving body physical reaction data from said subject,a comparator unit, associated with said stress input unit and saidphysical input unit, for comparing stress level information and physicalreaction data, to detect substantially simultaneous stress level changeand a physical reaction in said subject, said apparatus being operableto threshold said simultaneous detection to infer the presence of anemergency situation and to enter an alarm state, said co-ordination unitcomprising an alarm unit for indicating that one of said detectors hasentered an alarm state and a contact unit for contacting and providing alocation of said one of said detectors having entered said alarm state.69. Central co-ordination unit for controlling a plurality of remotelylocated emergency situation detectors, each detector comprising: aphysical input unit for receiving body physical reaction data from saidsubject, said apparatus being operable to threshold said detection toinfer the presence of an emergency situation and to enter an alarmstate, said co-ordination unit comprising an alarm unit for indicatingthat one of said detectors has entered an alarm state and a contact unitfor contacting and providing a location of said one of said detectorshaving entered said alarm state.
 70. Emergency situation detectionapparatus according to claim 43, wherein an additional detector islocated on a wall of a vehicle carrying a subject, so as to cancel outvibrations of said vehicle.